Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? :)

This just in from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

ST. LOUIS — Secrecy was a must. Inside Nestlé Purina Petcare headquarters,
they used a code name: Project Trident. Plans were afoot to shake up the $17
billion U.S. pet food industry. The goal was a new cat food. Not a meal. Not a
treat.

"A game-changer," said Vincent Biroscak, senior brand manager for Fancy Feast.
"A paradigm-shifter."

A team of 40 at Purina worked 3½ years to develop this new product, shape it,
fine-tune it. They spent hundreds of hours on research and design. When a
select group of St. Louis area cat owners last year tested the product at home,
they were forced to sign nondisclosure agreements.

And then, late last month, the new product quietly began to appear on store
shelves nationwide.

Fancy Feast Appetizers for cats.

After reading the entire article, I got to feeling like something of a negligent mommy to my six. According to a survey attached to this article, Fancy Feast is the top-selling canned kitty food in the USA ~ with 440.2 million units sold a year. With so many feline mouths to feed, inside and out, I can afford only the runner-up kitty food, Friskies, at 360.9 million, and Whiskas pouches, which weren't even in the top five. I save Fancy Feast for special occasions and treats.

However, now, apparently, I should throw appetizers into mix. Again according to the article. the consistent Fancy Feast customers are the ones *highly devoted* to their kitties. My ego can't help being somewhat crushed to know that I'm a notch less than devoted to my babies. I wonder if they will settle for extra cuddles and kitty kisses instead of more Fancy Feast? :)

Nevertheless, I will probably give the appetizers a try ~ as treats for my fuzzy family. Which of the eight varieties should I try first?

Flaked Skipjack Tuna? Steamed Tilapia? Tender Tongol Tuna? White Meat Chicken and Shredded Beef? Seabass and Shrimp? Steamed Wild Alaskan Salmon? White Meat Chicken and Flaked Tuna? Or simply White Meat Chicken? All come *In a Delicate Broth,* so the decision becomes even more difficult.

I visited the Fancy Feast page at the Purina site in hopes of finding a coupon. Not only was there no coupon, there was also a warning about counterfeit Fancy Feast coupons being sold on eBay ~ so, buyer, beware!

In the meantime, I wonder if Ameren would mind sacrificing my monthly tribute to them so that my babies can have appetizers? :)

The Surveys:

Top-selling wet cat foods

Units sold (June 2007-June 2008)

1. Fancy Feast (Purina) 440.2 million

2. Friskies (Purina) 360.9 million

3. Private Label* 123.9 million

4. 9 Lives (Del Monte) 102.1 million

5. Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys (Purina) 59.3 million

* Excluding Wal-Mart sales, private label includes all generic/store brands.

Source: Information Resource Inc.

Top global pet food makers

1. Mars
Some brands: Pedigree, Whiskas, Royal Canin
2007 global sales: $11.8 billion

2. Nestle SA (including Nestlé Purina Petcare)
Some brands: Purina, ALPO, Friskies, Fancy Feast
2007 global sales: $10.9 billion

3. Colgate-Palmolive
Hill's Science Diet
2007: $3 billion

4. Procter and Gamble
Iams, Eukanuba
$2.99 billion

5. Del Monte Foods
Meow Mix, 9 Lives, Jerky Treats
$1.7 billion

Source: Euromonitor International